Bucerias, to Market, to Market, to Buy a Fat Hen

Ah, farmers’ markets. There’s nothing like fresh fruit and veggies at great prices. That is, unless you’re in Bucerias, in which case you also get fish, shrimp, hot sauce, baseball caps, laundry detergent, bowls, brooms, CDs, and more! If you look closely at the map you might be wondering whether the hot Mexican sun has gone to my head? The market is in the middle of a river! The river is actually dry most of the year (called an arroyo) and a good place to set up a market. The market is open on Sundays only and is an entertaining place to obtain your supplies for a week and practice your Spanish skills (although you can get by with grunting and pointing). There’s an exit off the highway directly down to the arroyo so you can approach that way or just walk up from the beach. It’s not the prettiest of walks but it is lively and fascinating. This is no sterile Safeway experience!

As far as I could tell, almost everything there is about a buck. Bag of onions: $10 pesos, dozen tomatoes: $10 pesos, key cut: $10 pesos. Yup, there’s a stall there that will cut a key for you. As it happened, I needed an extra key for the outside closet where the hot water heater is located so I had a key cut in about a minute. Gerrit found a brightly painted hand-carved foosball game for $10US. The challenge with the game was that it came without a ball. Gerrit’s scouting skills came in handy as he carved an avocado pit (more on killer guacamole later) into a serviceable ball. We struggled back to the car with bags and bags of food which fed us for many days afterward.

A note on Mexican produce: it’s a good idea to wash your fruits and vegetables with some bactericide soap (available at most grocery stores) or soak them in a sinkful of water with a capful of bleach for about 30 minutes. This way you’ll avoid dancing the “Mexican Two Step“.

The start of the arroyoThe marketFish and shrimpBuying tomatoes at the marketYummy veggiesHot sauce and pastaBaseball capsGetting a key cutGerrit's prize bargain, a foosball table!The foosball table was sans ball but a carved avocado pit can be a good substitute